Oxbotica appoints Richard Jinks as VP of Commercial

Oxbotica, the autonomous software company, today announces the appointment of Richard Jinks as its Vice President – Commercial with specific focus on Off-Road and Risk Solutions.

In his role, Jinks will be responsible for expanding Oxbotica’s commercial team as it continues to scale its development and deliver activities globally. He will develop the company’s portfolio across off-highway industries, manage relationships and further extend its reach in international markets.

Jinks joins Oxbotica from AXA XL, where he served as Head of Portfolio Solutions. Early to recognise the potential of autonomous software solutions, and the implications they carry for other industries, Jinks established AXA XL’s global autonomy programme and led its partnership with Oxbotica. This involved working to assess the risks associated with autonomy and providing solutions for clients to accelerate the adoption of autonomous vehicle technology.

The appointment is the latest in a number of moves Oxbotica has made to facilitate its rapid international growth. These include the completion of a £14 million funding round, a strategic partnership with Addison Lee to collaborate on the deployment of autonomous vehicle services, and the appointment of Fraser Robinson, former Uber Head of Business, to its Board of Directors.

Oxbotica’s software uses the latest in computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence to enable vehicles to operate autonomously in any environment and on any terrain. Its infrastructure-free, localisation software is already deployed in multiple industry-leading international customer projects in vehicles on roads in complex urban environments. In addition to working with Addison Lee, Oxbotica leads the government-backed DRIVEN consortium and already has a fleet of autonomous vehicles operational in London and Oxford.

“As a specialist in building partnerships and managing relationships across markets, this is a particularly exciting time to join Oxbotica. Autonomous vehicles will eventually become ubiquitous on public roads, but there are enormous opportunities in many industries – whether that’s at airports, down mines or in farms – to capitalise on in the intervening period and beyond.

“My past collaborations with Oxbotica exposed me to the true uniqueness of its software, precisely because it can be applied to any vehicle type and in any environment. This makes it the ideal technology to scale across industries and markets. It also exposed me to the extraordinary talent within the firm and the world-class calibre of its leadership team. My goal is to do commercial justice to the great technological breakthroughs being achieved here.”

Graeme Smith, CEO of Oxbotica, said:

“We have made incredible progress on multiple fronts over the last four years, from securing investment to propel our growth into international markets to forming key partnerships with companies such as Addison Lee.

“Richard has joined at the perfect time to help us build on this momentum and, having worked closely with him during his time at AXA XL, we are fully aware of the incredible value he will bring to the business.”

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For the past five years, I’ve had the best job in the world. Being CEO at Oxbotica has been my dream job, as we’ve built the company from a start-up through to one of the world’s leading autonomous driving software companies.